DATE=1/4/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ERITREA / SUDAN (S & L) (CQ)
NUMBER=2-257777
BYLINE=CAROL PINEAU
DATELINE=ASMARA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Eritrea and Sudan have agreed to restore
diplomatic ties, according to a joint communique
issued Tuesday. Carol Pineau in Asmara has the
details.
TEXT: The agreement was signed by the two countries'
foreign ministers at the Sudanese embassy in Asmara.
According to the agreement, Eritrea and Sudan will
open crossing points along the border, restore
diplomatic relations, reopen embassies in the capital
cities and resume regular air service.
The agreement to restore relations comes after several
months of talks mediated by Qatar.
/// Begin Opt///
The announcement also reiterated Eritrea and Sudan's
commitment to the Doha Agreements signed in May, and a
subsequent agreement signed in June that covered
normalization of relations between the two nations.
The communique follows recent signs of improving
relations between the two countries.
Last week, Eritrea issued a press release quoting
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir as saying the main
reason for the breakdown in relations between Eritrea
and Sudan was factionalism within the Khartoum
government. The statement also quoted President
Bashir as saying Sudan's policy toward Eritrea was not
constructive.
/// End Opt ///
The announcement follows a battle for power between
Sudanese President Bashir and the now former speaker
of parliament, Hassan al-Turabi.
Since ousting Mr. Turabi, Sudan has begun an intensive
campaign of mending fences. Egypt and Sudan are
reestablishing ties. A road linking Ethiopia and
Sudan is to be repaired. President Bashir has said he
is willing to negotiate with the Sudanese People's
Liberation Army, the S-P-L-A. The S-P-L-A has been
fighting the government in Khartoum for 16 years.
The opening of diplomatic ties may have an effect on
regional politics. Eritrea and Ethiopia had been
considered a check on the expansion of Islamic
extremism from Sudan, but when war broke out between
Ethiopia and Eritrea (in 1998), Ethiopia quickly
resumed relations with Khartoum.
/// Rest Opt ///
Eritrea made overtures toward Sudan, but continued to
house the Sudanese opposition in Asmara.
With accusations of Ethiopia training Eritrean
opposition forces in Sudan, and Khartoum claiming
Eritrea was sending troops to aid the Sudanese rebels,
it appeared Sudan could be the next site of a proxy
war in the Ethiopian - Eritrean conflict.
According to some experts, the agreement between
Eritrea and Sudan may mark a limit on the expansion of
the war in the Horn of Africa. (signed)
NEB/CP/GE/JP
04-Jan-2000 15:03 PM EDT (04-Jan-2000 2003 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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